Something is badly wrong with the housing market – so why aren’t we talking about it?
In 1991, 67 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds owned their own home. In 2016, that figure had fallen to…
Technological progress is as messy as Darwinian evolution
There is a famous chart which shows the time it took for various technologies to be adopted by 50 million…
This year’s top gadgets – according to my inner chimp
I’d hoped to spend this week writing about my new Geberit Japanese-style toilet, but since the grout is not yet…
No one else has the weird levels of self-regard shown by people who appear regularly on TV
One of the more tedious tropes of recent years is for journalists to bemoan the rise of populism while busily…
How veganism became mainstream
I have just returned from Canada, which seems to share Britain’s new-found obsession with veganism. There, chains such as Burger…
How status seeking leads to bad decision-making
Whenever I use the security lane at an airport, I enjoy watching people retrieving their bags and metallic items when…
Plumbers always have the best restaurant recommendations
Whenever I use the security lane at an airport, I enjoy watching people retrieving their bags and metallic items when…
Why averages don’t add up
I recently learned from a doctor friend that salt isn’t necessarily bad for you. Yes, there is a minority whose…
Why business is perfectly relaxed about Brexit
It’s difficult to go into the office nowadays, since most of my colleagues are so distraught by the prospect of…
Business is the only area of human activity where you get paid to change your mind
In 1891, a 29-year-old man moved from Philadelphia to Chicago intending to start a business. With $32 to his name,…
Why no one ever moves back to London
In last week’s Spectator, Martin Vander Weyer replied to a couple with a baby who had sought his advice on…
Looking for a new idea? Try borrowing an old one
Recently I suggested a new approach to commuter-train overcrowding. It simply involved reformulating the problem by accepting that not all…
Is the future of work flexible?
Today we suffer disillusion, not because we are poorer than we were — on the contrary, even today we enjoy,…
Why extravagant things don’t have to feel expensive
‘Suppose you bought a case of claret a few years ago for £20 a bottle. It now sells at auction…
Why governments should spend big on tech
I was talking to a large Silicon Valley video-conferencing firm the other day. ‘Just for interest,’ I asked, ‘what would…
Why governments should spend big on tech
I was talking to a large Silicon Valley video-conferencing firm the other day. ‘Just for interest,’ I asked, ‘what would…
The service station problem: it’s becoming impossible to correct a mistake
My first award for intelligent design this week goes to Dublin airport for displaying a sign which reads ‘Lounges. Turn…
It’s easy to sex up the business of paying tax
To fund the war against Napoleon in 1813, Princess Marianne of Prussia invented an ingenious tax-raising scheme. Wealthy Prussians were…
Could my slogan have swayed the Brexit vote?
People sometimes ask what slogan could have swayed the Brexit vote: the opposite of the touchstone phrase ‘Take back control’.…
Why don’t we see more big infrastructure projects?
In 2012 I finished a meeting in Berlin and headed to Tegel airport. Apparently mine was a historic flight, since…
In defence of inaction: why it’s usually best to do nothing
I recently came across the Small Robot Company, a British agricultural robotics start-up. Their vision is that with smart, autonomous…
The consequences of the new EU car speed limit
A once famous question posed to job-seekers at Microsoft was ‘Why are manhole covers round?’ The question was revealing not…
The uncountable problems with innumerate Brits
Alevels, from the perspective of a ‘choice architect’, are a disaster. While pupils are free to pick and mix freely…
Are IQ tests really the best way to measure nature vs nurture?
I have a dim memory from 1970 of a primly dressed distant relative visiting in a Baby Austin. This, I…
We put a man on the moon before wheels on suitcases. What else are we missing?
The Romans never invented the stirrup. It took 50 years after the invention of canned food for someone to invent…
